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Amid mounting pressure, new UM President Mark Schlissel issued a five-paragraph statement late Tuesday that directly criticizes football coach Brady Hoke,
"I want to express my extreme disappointment in the events surrounding the handling of an on-field injury to one of our football players, Shane Morris," Schlisel says, referring to the student's return to play after a jarring hit to his head left him staggering.
"The health and safety of our entire student community, including all of our student-athletes, is my most important responsibility as university president.
"I have been in regular discussion regarding this incident and its aftermath with Athletic Director David Brandon and the Board of Regents. . . .
"We did not get this right and for this I apologize to Shane, his family, his teammates, and the entire Michigan family."
He says "immediate protocol changes," which aren't described, will better protect athletes.
The president's spokesman tells David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press that no action involving Hoke or Athletic Director David Brandon is imminent.
Original article, 3 p.m. Tuesday:
Welcome to Ann Arbor, Mark Schlissel. Hope you enjoyed your first three weeks as University of Michigan president because the honeymoon is over.
UM's new leader, inaugurated Sept. 5, faces his first big controversy -- and it's drawing national news coverage.
An outcry on campus and beyond is growing over football coach Brady Hoke's quick decision Saturday to let quarterback Shane Morris keep playing after a head-to-head tackle left him wobbly. Athletic Director Dave Brandon early Tuesday said the player may have a mild concussion, contradicting comments by the coach Sunday and Monday.
Schlissel hasn't commented yet on the situation, which is being reported on network TV newscasts and by other national media.
"Anytime an organization's reputation is at risk, the top leader needs to be involved," Lansing public relations executive Kelly Rossman-McKinney tells the Free Press.
Ypsilanti blogger Mark Maynard agrees. "It's getting to the point where he needs to stand up at a podium somewhere and make it known that he's dealing with it," Maynard posts on Facebook. "This is a big moment for the new prez. I'm curious to see how he handles it. . . . Regardless of what he does, this will be a defining moment in his tenure at U-M."
A student protest against Brandon is scheduled at 6 p.m. Tuesday on the campus Diagonal and an online petition urges Schlissel to remove him. As of 6 p.m., more than 8,400 students had signed it. (Full access is restricted to registered students.)
Related coverage: Dave Brandon Contradicts Brady Hoke Remarks on Shane Morris
The petition, created by graduate student Zeid El-Kilani, says: "In accordance to the principles that athletics are supposed to unite and bring positive energy to campus, we request that President Schlissel remove Mr. David Brandon from his position as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics."
After Dave Brandon (above) became athletic director in 2010, a petition says, the football program "has become a black eye for the University of Michigan."
El-Kilani, who earned his undergraduate degree in medical engineering at UM two years ago, adds this supporting information:
Under Mr. Brandon's tenure, the football program, one of the most prominent programs at the University of Michigan and in the nation, has become a black eye for the University of Michigan. Instead of adding to the image and prestige of the university, the state of the athletic department has hurt the connection shared between alumni, fans and the university. ... When the athletic department produces overwhelmingly negative media attention, it distracts from the main mission of the university.
Brandon, former CEO of Domino's Pizza, became athletic director in 2010. His contract was extended two years later to run through 2018.
At a website called Coaching Search, Pete Roussel reports that an unnamed source says "Michigan has gauged the interest of UConn director of athletics Warde Manuel and Boston College athletic director Brad Bates about their interest in the same position at Michigan."
Manuel is a graduate of Michigan and played football under Bo Schembechler. Before accepting the UConn athletic director position, Manuel served six years as the athletic director at Buffalo.
Bates was also a part of the Wolverines football program under Schembechler. Bates holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Michigan. . . . Before accepting the athletic director position at Boston College, he spent ten years as the athletic director at Miami (OH) University.
At MLive, Brendan F. Quinn of MLive takes a timely look at Hoke's contract:
If he’s fired by athletic director Dave Brandon, or the university board of regents, or U-M president Mark Schlissel or any of the above -- it will come at a heavy cost.
According to Hoke’s contract, signed on March 28, 2011, he will be owed $2 million to buy out the remaining two years (2015, 2016) left on his contract.
That figure would be thrown on top of an already large pile of cash. Hoke’s career earnings at Michigan currently stand at $11,402,000, including his $2.3 million salary for the ongoing 2014 season.
